- A Midsummer Night's Dream was one of my favorite stories when I was younger. I also loved the movie with Christian Bale (Actually. I loved all of Christian Bale's movies. He was my favorite back in the day.): (the glamourai)

Monday, June 27, 2011

Last Wednesday I decided to take my cousins to Blues on the Green at Zilker Park. Blues on the Green is a free concert series held yearly by the radio station 93.3. The concerts are held every other Wednesday during the summer. On the day that we went, the bands that played were The Bright Light Social Hour and Suzanne Choffel.

We got to the concert ridiculously early since I didn't want to deal with the traffic or the crazy parking situation. Thankfully, the boys had a book and an ipod to keep them busy, otherwise I might have had a little bit of a problem keeping them on the lawn.

Once more people started to arrive we noticed that it would've been a smart idea to pack a picnic , and that the best part of the concert is the people watching. We were surrounded by a bunch of flags - most noticeably a pirate flag, a fish kite on a stick, and a couple of rugby team flag - every style of picnic blanket or quilt and tons of food. Our neighbors were busy playing frisbee (a bit of a hazard with so many people. One hit an unsuspecting girl right in the face and sent her sunglasses flying. It looked painful!), chatting with everyone around them and hitting up their coolers. By the time the concert started, there was not one empty patch of green - our neighbors were practically sitting on our blanket.

The music started at 7:30pm with Suzanne Choffel. She has a beautiful voice! We were incredibly far from the stage so I couldn't see the performance, but her music was great. The main act, The Bright Light Social Hour, came out about 30 mins later with a very fun and energetic sound. I'm going to have to download some of their music.

I am definitely planning on coming back to Zilker for another concert. I'm thinking the Old 97s should be good - they sound Austin-y enough. This time, though, will probably be with some friends and some nice drinks - the grown-up version of the concert. See you there?

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Two of my teenaged cousins are visiting me for a few weeks. Having company is the best excuse to act like a tourist! I'm crossing everything I can off my Austin to-do list. Well, everything that a couple of teenage boys might be interested in - I'm thinking that museums and art galleries are not happening.

Enjoy your morning! I'm off to the pool and then finally going to see the new X-Men movie.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts wasn't on my summer reading list. In fact, I've had the book for about a year and had already read it once. The thing is - I ordered a couple of my reading list books from Amazon and started getting antsy because I had nothing to read! I remembered that I had loved Shantaram the first time I read it, but couldn't remember much of the story. So, of course, I had to reread it.

Shantaram is loosely based on the writer's life. In a nutshell, it is the story of a man that escapes from a high-security prison in Australia and flees to Bombay, India - where he does everything from establish a free clinic in the slums to work for the Bombay mafia. Everything that happens in the novel is so incredible, that it's hard to believe most of it actually happened.

The most interesting part, however, is the city. He does such a wonderful job describing the beauty and culture of Mumbai that you can't help but want to see it for yourself. One of my best friends in university was from Mumbai. She invited me several times to visit her "for a couple of months". I loved the idea, but my broke college student budget did not let me afford the plane tickets and a couple of months without working. Looking back, though, I really should have made the effort. It was a great opportunity: spend several months living in India. Does that sound wonderful? I also really should have learned the language. I picked up the Hindi accent from spending time with my friends, but didn't learn more than some random expressions and terms. In fact, she asked me that once: why, in all the years that we spent so much time together, I never learned Hindi. The truth it, I hadn't thought about it - I was busy trying to learn Italian. Oh well! Everything happens for a reason, no? Maybe I'll get another opportunity to visit India and learn the language.

Back to the book... it made me laugh; it made me cry (a lot); it had me biting my nails with anxiety. The only part that I didn't like was a brief stint to Afghanistan, but everything else was great. The characters are so vibrant and complex that you can't help but wonder if they weren't all real. My favorite characters were an Indian tour guide and an Iranian assassin (I had a little character crush on the Iranian assassin actually). The novel is long. It's not a quick read by any means, but it is a beautiful story. You should read it!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Good afternoon! I hope you're having a wonderful Monday! How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

I'm running around like crazy today! I drove down to Brownsville this past weekend for a friend's son's baptism and her birthday party. We had a great time, but now, of course, I'm still on weekend time. I'd love a nap, but I just walked through my door about an hour ago. It's time to get to work!

Thankfully, before I left my apartment last Friday, I received a great little package - new shoes!

Cute, huh? I'd been wanting a pair of Tom's for awhile now, and finally talked myself into buying them. They are ridiculously comfortable, and just what I need to get things done today! Nothing like a new pair of shoes to inspire you.